Chile has become China’s largest fruit supplier

Friso Sterk, BioWorld:

“Supply of organic granadillas threatened due to Peru floods”
This month the first granadillas arrived from the jungles of Peru at BioWorld in Poeldijk. “We receive these granadillas from the same grower that provides us with ginger and tumeric,” says Friso Sterk. However, the floods are causing trouble…..

Peru will export more than 130,000 tons of citrus fruits
According to the general manager of the Association of Citrus Producers of Peru (ProCitrus), Sergio of the Castillo Valderrama, Peru expects to export more than 130,000 tons of citrus fruit in this campaign, which started in mid March and will…..

Chile has become China’s largest fruit supplier
According to recent data from Chinese customs, in 2016 Chile’s total fruit export to China amounted $1.2 billion, increasing by 22% compared to that of 2015. Thus Chile has replaced Thailand as China’s largest supplier of imported fresh fruits……

Mexico: Plantain from San Rafael could reach the United States
San Rafael’s plantain production could be exported to the United States, so the sector is going to run a test this summer to determine the feasibility of sending this fruit to be marketed in that country, said Luis Grappin Pumarino, president…..

Russia will help Cuba recover its citrus sector
Russia is ready to help Cuba in the recovery and development of the island’s citrus sector, said the Russian Ministry of Agriculture at the end of a meeting between Russian Deputy Evgueni Gromika and the Cuban ambassador in Moscow, Emilio…..

Panama wants to replicate Costa Rica’s success with pineapples
Costa Rica is currently the world’s largest pineapple exporter, largely thanks to a solid public-private partnership and marketing strategies based on business intelligence information.Last year, the country exported $873 million of this…..

Mexico: Opportunities for Michoacan limes in Canada
According to Francisco Huergo Maurin, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sedrua), Canada can be one of the main markets for Michoacan’s limes.Michoacan is Mexico’s second biggest producer of limes, with 475,000 tons…..

Peruvian exotic fruits have opportunities in Asia, Europe and the US
There is a global trend for consuming exotic fruits, such as camu camu, pitahaya, and açai because of their nutritional properties; and the forest regions, such as Amazonas, Loreto, Ucayali, Madre de Dios, and San Martin, can take advantage of…..

Mexico: Colima’s the country’s second biggest producer of blueberries
In recent years Colima has been one of the country’s major producers of blueberries. This fruit has many benefits for human health and many desirable features from the nutritional standpoint, as it enhances the immune system, is rich in…..

Global Focus Grapes
‘Grape N’ Go”
“We have injected innovation in every step of this process”
Convenience, ready to eat, small packs, kids packs, healthy packs, is what we have been hearing for the last few years. The trend is worldwide and offers a challenge to growers, marketing firms and retailers to come up with the next big…..

Could cause $1Bn in crop damage
Cyclone Debbie rages through north-east Australia
Cyclone Debbie is currently storming through north-east Australia and has the potential to wipe out fruit and vegetable crops worth over one billion dollars, devastating regional communities. Ahead of the storm, over 25,000 people were urged…..

Okkie Burger and Arno Mouton – Quattro Citrus
South Africa: Start of citrus packing in Citrusdal
Yesterday was the start of the packing season for Quattro Citrus. The firm began in 2014 with four shareholders, AMC South Africa being the fourth, managing the South African interests of the Muñoz Group. The other three directors are directly…..

South African avocados take advantage of empty EU markets
Strong opening prices for SA avocados in EU
The first South African avocados have started arriving in Europe to find quite empty markets because recent floods have disrupted the Peruvian avocado industry, causing a delay in ripening and loading their fruit.“We normally receive good…..

French greenhouse grower introduces new labels
Rougeline recently introduced its new line of labels. These feature not only the origin and the grower of the product, but also the quality level. “For several years Les Paysans de Rougeline have proclaimed the French origin of their products,”…..

Corsican grapefruits facing no competition
The harvest of the grapefruit variety Star Ruby is starting these days. This is a timely moment of the year, as “the campaign in Florida, Spain and Turkey is over, and that of South Africa has yet to begin,” states David Casoni, head of…..

Ger Kingma, Hagé International:
“Plenty of room for Spanish tomatoes due to delay in Dutch supply”
The Spanish tomato season could be considered fairly extreme. “I’ve been in this trade for 38 years now, but I have never experienced anything this extreme,” says Ger Kingma from Hagé International. “Bad weather circumstances caused enormous…..

Daniel Castellar, Arcoval
Spain: Start of carrot campaign with strong competition in Europe
The Spanish carrot season kicked off a couple of weeks ago in Cadiz with good yields; however, everything points to a difficult campaign, as “even though the quality of the Spanish production is very good, the European market has greater stocks…..

Edwin Fillekes, HillFresh:
“Scarcity of supply in pineapple market”
The pineapple market is dealing with a considerably diminished supply. “The fact is we’ve had a lot of problems in recent months. In December, Costa Rica was still very wet, in January and February it was extremely dry, and last week there was…..

Hardly any broccoli available in coming weeks
The broccoli market has gone crazy. “Hardly any broccoli is available on the market. When Spanish production areas were flooded during weeks 47 and 48 last year, nothing could be planted. We are now seeing the consequences of that, because…..

Research finds almond tree fungicide harmful to bees
According to recent lab tests at Texas A&M University, iprodione, which is a fungicide used to keep almond trees fungus free significantly diminishes the survivability rate of western honey bees, Apis mellifera, the world’s most common…..

US: Organic now in kitchens of over 80% of households
As former Georgia Governor, Sonny Perdue, begins his confirmation process to become the next Secretary of Agriculture, new Nielsen findings released by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) on Thursday show things have changed in the kitchens of…..

Fire hits Washington fruit-packing warehouse
Crews battled a two-alarm fire in a fruit-packing warehouse in Wenatchee, Washington on Friday night. The fire was in the Philippi fruit warehouse on 1921 Fifth Street.The fire call came in at 8:26, and 50 firefighters from five agencies…..

Avocados From Mexico may increase sports marketing
According to Portada’s sports marketing board, Avocados from Mexico may be looking to increase their marketing in sports. This follows a positive reaction during their Super Bowl advertising campaign. If Avocados from Mexico is to push…..

Canadian TOV grower has expanded into the US
Demand for tomatoes on the vine (TOV) is steadily picking up. “It’s nice as we are now starting our local production,” says Jimmy Coppola with Westmoreland-TopLine Farms. The market for TOVs is a bit lower this time of the year compared to the…..

USA: Nature Fresh in discussions to build greenhouse facilities in Maine
Acres of peppers could be growing in greenhouses adjacent to the Stored Solar biomass power plant in West Enfield next year, if an agreement between the plant’s owners and one of the largest greenhouse pepper growers in North America comes to…..

Canadian tomato farmers angry over ‘horrible’ pricing deal
Weeks after the province made the controversial decision to take over tomato pricing negotiations, an agreement between farmers and processors has been reached for the 2017 growing season.Former minister of agriculture Elmer Buchanan, who was…..

How one man went from heroin addict to a fruit juice millionaire
As Khalil Rafati overdosed on heroin for the ninth time the paramedics frantically tried to save his life.A drug addict who slept rough on the streets of Los Angeles, he eventually regained consciousness after the medical team used a…..

Turkey: Different attitudes to cold chain logistics in Europe and Asia
According to Burak Söylemez of the Turkish company IMGE Industrial Cooling Systems, there is a noticeable difference between the requirements for cold chain logistics and other cooling solutions between Asia and Europe. While the European…..

Opportunities for combination concepts with forgotten and conventional vegetables
More colour and flavour on plates. That is what Hollandteelt offers with a varied supply of coloured carrots, tubers and forgotten vegetables. Harold Zondag primarily sees a future for new concepts in which conventional products are combined…..

More demand for carrots in plastic bags
A new palletiser wasn’t actually planned on yet, but when Marco de Vries from Vriemex heard about Solidtec’s new machine, it was an easy decision to make. “The carrots are not just stacked quickly, but also very neatly.”Vriemex, active in the…..

The Greenery arranges 150 million for restructuring horticulture
With an investment fund of 150 million euro, The Greenery wants to boost the restructuring of their members. “We have seen that the scale continues to grow in the sector,” the cooperative says.The market asks for large, efficient cultivation…..

Poland: Admiro tomatoes reach 2.80 Euro per kilo
The start of the season entails a slow growth of the production and, in turn, a high price for Admiro tomatoes. If to this we add the high demand for tomatoes observed in certain countries, the price goes up considerably. “This happens every…..

Italy: The secret behind DimmidiSì’s I Piatti Unici success
Almost 10 years after it was first launched, consumer response regarding the “I Piatti Unici” range is very positive. The mixed salads are an excellent healthy alternative to a sandwich on the go and are just as practical, as they come with…..

Twenty-five years of Fairtrade in Germany
Fairtrade, the quality mark of fair trade, is turning 25. In Germany, the association TransFair is behind the hallmark. Dieter Overath, responsible for TransFair’s management, has dedicated himself to fair trade since the year of the company’s…..

Spain: Castile-Leon’s potato acreage could exceed 20,000 hectares
Potato planting is currently underway in Castile-Leon, although the activities have slowed down in recent days due to the low temperatures. The earliest plantings started at the beginning of the month and about 40% of the total acreage may now…..

Costa Rica, the largest supplier by far
Spain: 43,060 tonnes of bananas available in January
In January 2017, the Canary Islands shipped 27,575 tonnes of bananas, while imports from Africa and Latin America amounted to 23,633 tonnes and re-exports to 8,147 tonnes, so Spanish consumers had access to some 43,061 tonnes of bananas. This…..

GFI to visit “El Dorado for Foodies”
On Wednesday a GFI delegation comprising 25 wholesale and street market managers embarks on the annual study trip to a European market metropolis. Last year the destination was London, this year it is Madrid. GFI board chairman Uwe Kluge is…..

China: Product differentiation brings market strength
“In the choice of fruit and vegetable varieties, we strictly follow the commercial standards of maximizing the value of resources. The selected products are distributed throughout the country with the help of a well controlled modern marketing…..

Agricultural unwoven fabric allows crops to “breathe”
Fruit farmers cover their plantation with agricultural un-spinned cloth”Agricultural unwoven fabric is a new kind of cover material that lets air through, is absorbant and has a certain transparancy. In Europe and America and other developed…..

Indian state to import chemicals from US to protect apple crops
The Himachal Pradesh government has received permission from the Union Ministry of Agriculture to import chemicals and machinery to combat serious problems afflicting apple production, an official said on Saturday.The Himachal Pradesh…..

Export demand for Indian Alphonso mango drops by 40%
Demand has been on a steady decline for Alphonso mangoes this season in the Indian market, and mango exporters have also had to contend with lukewarm interest from countries abroad, with a 40% drop in export demand. Several factors have…..

Northland, NZ produces $40m in kiwifruit
With harvest just beginning, 120 kiwifruit growers in Northland expected to pick a $40 million share of New Zealand’s largest fresh fruit horticultural export. While the national crop this season is forecast to be slightly down on last year, NZ…..

Unemployed Australians urged to pick fruit for seasonal work
Thousands of jobless Australians will be able to earn up to $5000 doing seasonal work and not lose their welfare benefits under a proposed new laws.The federal government on Thursday introduced a bill in parliament to trial the changes,…..

Horticulture’s rapid export growth reliant on sound trade policy
Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Mike Chapman says that, to continue its rapid growth, horticulture needs a good trade policy, and he welcomes today’s announcement from the Government enabling that.”Horticulture is the primary…..

Zimbabwe farmer to supply $800k in passion fruit & peas to Germany
A Gweru-based farmer claims to have secured a lucrative market for horticultural products in Germany. Mr Tatenda Karimazondo recently attended the Fruit Logistica in Berlin where he says he received orders of $800 000 of passion fruit and peas…..

Armyworm outbreak spreads to Uganda
An outbreak of the fall armyworm caterpillar in several southern African nations has raised an alarm, with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warning they pose “a huge threat to food security”. Uganda was the most recent country…..

Automation already a reality – fewer people working on processing lines
During a recent lecture held at Bocconi, one of FreshPlaza’s Italian editors talked about labour cost reduction in the fresh produce sector and about the technologies that can replace manual labour. She also brought the following examples of…..

‘Grape N’ Go”
“We have injected innovation in every step of this process”
Convenience, ready to eat, small packs, kids packs, healthy packs, is what we have been hearing for the last few years. The trend is worldwide and offers a challenge to growers, marketing firms and retailers to come up with the next big…..